Gas trap



June 14, 1949. w, c KlMBROUGH 2,473,150

GAS TRAP Filed Oct. 4, 1947 WARREN C. K/MBROUGH.

INVENTOR.

Patented June 14, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GAS TRAP Warren G.Kimbrough, Portland, Oreg.

Application October 4, 1947, Serial No. 778,016

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in gas detectors and moreespecially to means for providing free escapement to the atmosphere ofgas leaking from gas pipes buried in and below the surface of theground- The invention relates to the type of gas trap shown anddescribed in my United States Patent 2,134,050, dated October 25, 1938.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide agas trap of the character above referred to but which is more eficientin operation and of less expensive construction and one which is moreconvenient to install for operative engagement with underground gaspipes.

A further object of the invention is the provision of means embodied inone end wall of the trap which enables said wall to come intosubstantially face to face contact with the wall of the building orother structure to which it is applied; said means also serving the dualpurpose of locking the trap to the pipe to prevent its displacement andalso to provide an absolute seal around the pipe passing through saidone end wall.

A still further object of the invention is that it may be inexpensivelymade of sheet metal with a minimum number of punching and formingoperations and at the same time be of adequate strength to withstand theheavy loads of earth packed around and above it when installed beneaththe surface of the ground.

The foregoing and other objects will appear as my invention is morefully hereinafter described in the following specification, illustratedin the accompanying drawing and finally pointed out in the appendedclaims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gas trap made in accordance with myinvention and operatively engaged with an underground gas pipe shown inbroken lines.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the trap installed beneath the surfaceof the ground and with one of its end walls in face to face contact witha wall of a building through which the gas pipe is extended.

The gas trap of the present invention consists of a housing generallyindicated at l and consisting of to and side walls made of a singlepiece of material and shaped as shown. To both ends of the housing aresecured by any suitable means end walls 2 and 3. Secured to the top wallis an outlet fitting 4 in open communication with a vent pipe 5 securedto the fitting by any suitable means. The uppermost end of the vent pipeis turned back On itself as at 6 to prevent admission of dust, or anyforeign substances which would tend to obstruct the vent. The wall 3 ofthe trap is formed with an enlarged opening 1 to freely admit escapinggas to the interior of the trap, while the opposite wall 2 is formedwith a smaller opening 8 adapted to straddle a gas pipe extendingthrough both of said walls. To secure the housing to the pipe and toprevent gas from escaping through the wall 2 around the gas pipe, Iprovide two overlapping closures ii and in formed with semi-circularcut-outs H and 1'2 respectively, and swingably attached to the wall 2 bymeans of a rivet or bolt l3. When both halves are drawn together, asshown, the cut-out portions II and I2 snugly surround the pipe while theremaining portions of the closures completely cover the opening 8. Thusany gas escaping lengthwise of the pipe is collected in the trap anddirected upwardly and out to the atmosphere through the vent pipe 5. Theclosures also serve to lock the housing to the gas pipe to preventaccidental displacement.

Ordinarily gas traps are installed around a pipe below the surface ofthe ground by digging an opening to a level below that of the gas pipe,and the various sections of the trap are assembled around and over thepipe at the time of installing. This of course requires considerablelabor and manipulation of the parts into position for assembly, but withmy invention the trap, being made in a single unit, need only be droppedin place over the pipe and locked and sealed at one of its ends withrespect thereto, by merely closing the closures 9 and it into theposition shown in Figure 1. Moreover, the relatively fiat end wall 2enables the trap to be placed squarely against the wall of the buildingto which it is applied in substantially face to face contact to preventgas which might possibly escape from working its way to the interior ofthe building around the pipe through the opening through which it passesto the interior of the building.

While I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my invention, I amaware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves toothers skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Having thus described the invention: what I claim as newand desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

I claim:

1. A gas trap consisting of a bottomless housing of inverted U shape incross section closed at one of its ends by a wall having an elongatedvertical opening therein, a pair of closure plates pivoted to said walland adapted when drawn together to seal off said opening, a pair ofaligned cut-outs in said closure plates adapted to encircle a pipeextending through the housing to prevent escapement of gas through saidWall about the pipe and to lock the housing to the pipe againstaccidental displacement, the opposite end of the housing being formedwith a Wall having an enlarged opening therein to straddle said pipe, avent opening formed in the top of the housing in open communication witha conduit in open communication with the atmosphere.

2 A gas trap consisting of a housing of inverted '4 U shape in crosssection closed at one of its ends by a solid wall having an openingtherein, a pair of closure plates pivoted to said wall and havingsemi-circular cutouts therein to encircle a pipe extending through thehousing, the opposite end of the housing being formed with a wall havingan enlarged opening therein to straddle said pipe, a vent opening formedin the top of the housing, and a conduit in open communication at one ofits ends with said vent opening, and its opposite end in opencommunication with the atmosphere above the ground.

WARREN C. KIMBROUGH.

No references cited.

